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Pink TV

Pink TV started operations by signing in 1994 a contract on business and technical cooperation with the country’s national television RTS (today public service broadcaster) due to Pink founder’s (Zeljko Mitrovic) close ties with the ruling elite. According to the contract, RTS was obliged to cede a number of facilities, equipment and services to Pink with minimal compensation. The mogul’s Pink TV channel pioneered a new kind of populist programming, playing “turbo-folk” music and promoting nationalist ideals. Since 1998, it has been the leading commercial TV station in the country, keeping good ties with every government to follow. Today, it is second most watched TV station in the country (after public service broadcaster RTS) with 16.54% audience share, according to Nielsen survey covering 2018.

Thanks to these close relations with state officials, Mitrovic’s business has been constantly growing over the years and also spreading through industries and countries. Today, its broadcast reach extends globally through Pink International’s licensing arrangements for two satellite television brands, Pink Plus and Pink Extra. In addition to this, there are 60 Pink cable channels ranging from Pink kids and Pink music to Pink erotika.

However, in the course of 2014, Pink appeared on the state tax administration lists as one of the major tax debtors. But, from June 2014 until January 2016, the Export Credit and Insurance Agency (AOFI) granted somewhat more than €7 million in loans to Pink.

Probably one of the biggest controversies regarding Mitrovic is his relation with the country’s broadcasting agency, REM. It is believed that Mitrovic had a major influence on the allocation of nationwide frequencies in 2006, securing himself one frequency (for Pink TV), while it later turned out that two other media outlets (Avala TV and Happy/Kosava TV), that also obtained the national frequency, were connected to him either through ownership or loans.

Key facts

Audience Share

16.54%

Ownership Type

Private

Geographic Coverage

National

Content Type

Free content

Data Publicly Available

ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.

2 ♥

Media Companies / Groups

Pink Media Group

Ownership

Ownership Structure

Zeljko Mitrovic owns Pink International which owns 100% of Pink TV.

Voting Rights

Missing Data

Individual Owner

General Information

Founding Year

1994

Founder

Zeljko Mitrovic

Affiliated Interests Founder

Zeljko Mitrovic began his business activities in the 1990s, in a media environment that was tightly controlled by the ruling couple, Slobodan Milosevic and Mirjana Markovic. Using his close ties with the ruling elite, Mitrovic obtained a nationwide broadcasting frequency for Pink in 1994 and since 1998, it has been the leading commercial TV station in the country, keeping good ties with every government to follow. Thanks to these close relations with state officials, Mitrovic’s business has been constantly growing over the years and also spreading beyond the borders of Serbia. Today, Pink media group (which is not a legal entity) operations include: filmed entertainment production, radio and television broadcasting, satellite TV production, music recording, optical disc media replication and executive/VIP aviation services. Mitrovic also had shares (80.5%) in bubble gum production in company called MGUM Technology.

Ceo

Zeljko Mitrovic

Affiliated Interests Ceo

Zeljko Mitrovic began his business activities in the 1990s, in a media environment that was tightly controlled by the ruling couple, Slobodan Milosevic and Mirjana Markovic. Using his close ties with the ruling elite, Mitrovic obtained a nationwide broadcasting frequency for Pink in 1994 and since 1998, it has been the leading commercial TV station in the country, keeping good ties with every government to follow. Thanks to these close relations with state officials, Mitrovic’s business has been constantly growing over the years and also spreading beyond the borders of Serbia. Today, Pink media group (which is not a legal entity) operations include: filmed entertainment production, radio and television broadcasting, satellite TV production, music recording, optical disc media replication and executive/VIP aviation services. Mitrovic also had shares (80.5%) in bubble gum production in company called MGUM Technology.

Editor-In-Chief

Zeljko Mitrovic

Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief

Zeljko Mitrovic began his business activities in the 1990s, in a media environment that was tightly controlled by the ruling couple, Slobodan Milosevic and Mirjana Markovic. Using his close ties with the ruling elite, Mitrovic obtained a nationwide broadcasting frequency for Pink in 1994 and since 1998, it has been the leading commercial TV station in the country, keeping good ties with every government to follow. Thanks to these close relations with state officials, Mitrovic’s business has been constantly growing over the years and also spreading beyond the borders of Serbia. Today, Pink media group (which is not a legal entity) operations include: filmed entertainment production, radio and television broadcasting, satellite TV production, music recording, optical disc media replication and executive/VIP aviation services. Mitrovic also had shares (80.5%) in bubble gum production in company called MGUM Technology.

Other Important People

Milica Mitrovic

Affiliated Interests other important people

Milica Mitrovic, Pink TV programme director and Vice President of Pink International and Zeljko’s wife, has been on different high positions in Pink TV ever since its founding.

Meta Data

Financial reports provided by the Serbian Business Register are for Pink International as a whole and are not available for Pink TV separately. They cover 2017, as those for 2018 have yet to be published.